Creating your own herbal bath salts is simple and can be a thoughtful and inexpensive holiday gift. I came up with this enchanting winter forest bath salt recipe because I wanted something that felt like walking through a peaceful forest that is covered in white. These bath salts are full of fragrant evergreens and uplifting spices that enliven your dark winter spirit. But when you are making bath salts for a gift, it can be done with whatever you have on hand. Usually, you can throw an incredible bath salt recipe with simple ingredients that don’t cost much money.
I drink high-quality ceremonial tea every day, and I wanted to use my leftover tea leaves in this recipe because they always have so much medicine. The tea I buy from Living Tea is harvested from old-growth tea forests in the Yunnan province of China. I picture what these tea forests look like and feel inspired by this recipe. Infusing the tea forest medicine into this DIY herbal bath salts recipe with other warming medicinals of the forest will spark some cosmic magic within you. While also warming your tight muscles, calming the senses, revitalizing the spirit, and inspiring mindfulness and rejuvenation.
How can you use your leftover tea leaves?
When you have a daily tea practice, you go through many tea leaves that still contain potent benefits. You can creatively use these leftover tea leaves instead of discarding them in the compost. One of my favorite ways is adding them to beauty and skincare recipes like these herbal bath salts. If you are one of my fellow tea friends, I hope you enjoy this creative way to connect with the leaves of this wise plant teacher in a warm bath.
Homemade Christmas Gifts with Tea
If you need a last-minute DIY Christmas gift, create this herbal bath salt recipe or your version of tea-infused bath salts with any ingredients you have on hand. It is a simple way to throw some quick homemade gifts together. Make it in a big bowl and use cute leftover glass jars you have saved or bought. Add some festive touches with a ribbon, a pretty label, and a sprig of evergreen tied in. Everyone on your list will love this thoughtful homemade gift. Nothing is better than a relaxing self-care gift made with love. If you want to create an incredible gift bundle, add the jar of bath salts with a nice bag of old-growth Living Tea and a tea bowl or sidehandle teapot. Or even a lovely candle or book they can enjoy while in the bath. Using a bath tray, you can even enjoy your tea bowls while soaking in these therapeutic bath salts.
Benefits of The Ingredients
Epson Salts:
Epson Salts are also known as the compound magnesium sulfate. Magnesium regulates the activity of more than 300 enzymes in the body. Deficiency of magnesium can contribute to high blood pressure, hyperactivity, heart problems, and more. Sulfate helps flush toxins and is vital to skin, joint, and bone health. Epson salt baths help treat skin irritation, fight off seasonal colds and flu, ease muscle and joint pain, increase mineral levels in the body,
Dead Sea Salt:
Dead sea salts are a great addition to a hot bath because they are extra mineral-rich salts. They are ten times saltier than typical table salts and are full of magnesium, calcium, potassium, and bromide. These trace mineral-rich salts relieve stress, relieve sore muscles, and hydrate and exfoliate the skin. Also, they help regenerate skin cells and support skin hydration, reducing redness and roughness. While easing muscle cramps, it reduces joint swelling and inflammation.
Pine Infused Olive Oil:
Use olive or any carrier oil to infuse more medicinals into your bath salts. Pine medicine opens the lungs + heart. At the same time, it lifts the spirit and purifies the environment. Pine is one of our rare medicines that can be harvested year-round. It has been used in fire ceremonies and rituals all over the world. The magical properties are known for healing, protection, fertility, prosperity, and cleansing. Pine-infused olive oil takes four weeks to make, so use regular olive oil if you don’t have time to make it.
Drops of Essential Oils
Black Pepper:
Banishes negativity and protects against negative energies. Black pepper essential oils help us move forward with self-care. Letting us resolve our fears and awaken our authentic selves. Adding the essential oils to the bath adds extra warmth and relieves pain. Easing achy joints due to aging and everyday wear and tear. Black pepper can also ease digestive discomfort and bloating. As well as, supports healthy circulation and lung health.
Cypress:
Cypress essential oils help us move on after an emotional crisis and help us get through the grieving process. Increasing our stamina and relieving feelings of being stuck in exhausted states. It allows us to breathe when we feel swamped. It helps us work through the loss of a situation or dream. Cypress is a sacred scent traditionally used as ceremonial incense by Tibetans. The essential oil is commonly used during yoga practice and pre-workout blends. It is a fresh, woodsy, and uplifting aroma. It is an astringent oil that benefits oily skin and scalp and is an excellent addition to foot and joint blends, chest rubs, and cleansing baths.
Medicinal Herbs
Tea (Camellia sinensis):
This famous beverage is also used for skin health. Rejuvenates complexion and minimizes wrinkles. High in antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties. Protects against sunburn and UV rays. Improve wound healing by increasing collagen volume and keratinocyte reproduction.
Rosemary:
It benefits memory and allows surrender and release of the past. Rosemary creates a clarity and abundance mindset, improving our confidence and inner strength. It will enable you to expand your perspective. Rosemary moves us through dark periods and emotions. Awakening embodiment. Motivating us to follow our spiritual path. In a bath, rosemary hydrates skin and scalp while helping control oil production.
Helichrysum:
Relieves lethargy and exhaustion from stress, awakens and detoxifies. Facilitates acceptance during pain periods in our relationships. Helichrysum flowers give us the strength to work through our troubles with grace. Topical benefits include easing dry skin and other chronic skin conditions. These delicate flowers promote a healthy complexion and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, aids, respiratory problems, headaches, and stress. Promote healthy veins and circulation, reducing inflammation, arthritis, and muscle pain. As well as protecting against free radicals. The aroma promotes relaxation and improves concentration and mental clarity.
Cardamom:
It calms anxiety and eases stress and exhaustion. It helps us deal with our daily stressors by promoting rest and giving our psyche a break so that insights can naturally arise. This allows us to accept help when needed and opens us up to our community—giving us the courage to re-emerge within our social lives. Cardamom also aids our digestive system.
Star Anise:
Let us forget pain and heartache. Improves memory. Star anise is anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, helping promote the healing of skin infections, blemishes, and eczema. It is astringent, meaning it tightens the skin, reduces the size of pores, and reduces oil production.
Orange Peel:
Improves mood and stabilizes nervous tension. Orange peels relieve the mind from obsessive thinking and co-dependent tendencies. It counters depression and regenerates our vitality. It is helping us counter our fears and allowing us to break old habits that make us feel stagnant—encouraging us to break out of our comfort zone. High in skin-enhancing nutrients like vitamin C, it brightens the skin and promotes collagen production. Also high in calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
Pine:
Protects the spirit against self-sabotage. Connects us to our ancestors. It allows us to recognize what is holding us back, bringing clarity. Protection of frontier skin against sun damage reduces hyperpigmentation. Strengthens your skin’s barrier and protects against free radicals. Firms and hydrates dry skin.
DIY Bath Salts Recipe:
Homemade Enchanted Winter Forest Herbal Bath Salts
Ingredients
- 3 cups of Epsom salt
- 1/3 cup of Dead Sea Salt
- 2 tbsps of baking soda
- 1/4 cup of rosemary
- 3 tbsps of helichrysum
- 2 tbsps of dried tea
- 1/4 cup of pine needles
- 1/4 cup of star anise
- 2 tbsps of cardamom
- 3 tbsps of orange peel
- 1/3 cup of pine-infused olive oil
- 8 drops of cypress essential oils
- 4 drops of black pepper essential oils
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add all the ingredients, starting with the salts and then the herbs, oils, and essential oils. Mix together.
- Add to clean glass jars.
- When you are ready to use add the salts directly to the bath water, tea bag, or muslin bag. Add directly to the warm water in the bath.
- *Feel free to use different herbs or different favorite essential oils that you already have and create your own herbal bath salts recipe or bath tea.
- *It is best to use dried herbs because the bath salts will last longer.
- *Still, you can add the fresh herbs directly to the bath for an even more luxurious, warm bath experience
- *Experiment with adding different assortments of coarse sea salt like Celtic or pink Himalayan salt.
- Enjoy this herbal bath soak in the wintertime after a long day; it has wintery therapeutics that will enliven your mood, promote circulation, open up all your senses, and connect you to a more heart-centered space—healing your achy muscles and watered-down spirit.
* You can find all these ingredients at your local apothecary or online at Mountain Rose Herbs and find forest-grown tea leaves at Living Tea.
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